Adam Schefter: Mud-Slinging Raider Hater

That station seems to dedicate a little portion of programming every day to bash the Raiders, especially owner Al Davis and Head Coach Tom Cable.

Every day since the Raiders' season ended, ESPN's "NFL Insider" Adam Schefter has made some sort of bogus claim regarding Oakland's head coaching decision. Every day, he has been wrong.

It started the Monday after the Ravens game, when Schefter claimed his "sources" told him Tom Cable would be fired.

Later that day, he said Cable and Davis would have a meeting the next Monday, and then Cable would be fired. The meeting never happened.

The following Thursday, the two apparently met, and Tom Cable left the team's facilities smiling and waving to reporters as he drove off.

Schefter then reported the two were to meet again that Friday, and Cable would more than likely be fired. Never happened.

Which brings us to this week. Schefter claimed that Davis was interviewing Jim Fassel, Marc Trestman, and Jim Harbaugh amongst others to replace Tom Cable.

When asked about the alleged interview, Harbaugh's agent, Jack Bechtha, had this to say:

“There is no truth to the rumors that Jim Harbaugh or I have met with the Raiders. Further, Jim has not interviewed with nor been offered the head coaching job of the Oakland Raiders. Jim and Al [Davis] have a very special relationship full of mutual respect. However, the rumors circulating are absolutely false.”

Trestman's agent, Darren Weiner, had this to say:

“He has not interviewed for any job, nor is he trying to position himself for any jobs.”

Fassel set the story straight himself by saying this:

“So I follow the Raiders pretty closely because my son is coaching there and I coached there at one time. But, no, I’m not lobbying for any job. I’m not lobbying for the Raider job. I have never in my life rooted for a coach to be let go so there’s an opening. I never have. I’m in the same fraternity. I just got my nose to the grindstone. I’m down here in Vegas working on getting situated down here, and that’s where I am. Nobody’s reached out to me.”

So tell me, Mr. Schefter, where do you get your information?

Schefter claims that sources close to the Raiders have given him all these leads. I am in no way an "NFL insider," but I can tell you as a die-hard Raiders fan, nobody in the Raiders front office is going to leak any information about the team. If someone were to do so, they would probably be found floating face-down in the bay.

Kind of ironic that all this mudslinging comes from a former Denver Broncos beat writer who helped Mike Shanahan write his autobiography.

It's not just Schefter, though. Everyone at ESPN is guilty.

Anyone on the network will be quick to talk about the Randy Hansen case, but they never seem to mention that Cable was never charged with anything after a lengthy investigation.

They would also be quick to tell you about Cable's alleged pattern of domestic violence that was reported by ESPN's Outside the Lines. The story claims that he abused two ex-wives and a girlfriend.

Cable admitted to one instance that occurred in his first marriage and had this to say:

"More than 20 years ago, during my first marriage, I became aware that my wife, Sandy, had committed adultery. I became very angry and slapped her with an open hand. What I did was wrong, and I have regretted and felt sorrow about that moment ever since."

When ESPN asked his second wife about the accusations, she had this to say:

"I have known Tom Cable for more than 20 years, including 17 years of marriage. Throughout the time I have known him, Tom has never been violent to me or our children. I chose not to speak to the media before now to protect my privacy and that of my children. However, I am very troubled by what is being claimed by others, and I felt compelled to speak out about my own lengthy experience with Tom."

The third was a recent girlfriend with no credibility. She told a story of Cable abusing her at his house when she showed up at 5:00 am.

The police were called, and a report was filed. In the report, an eyewitness stated, "At no time did Tom commit any act of violence toward her. After not getting what she wanted from Tom, Ms. Lutz screamed at Tom, 'I am going to ruin your (expletive deleted) life and I am going to ruin your (expletive deleted) career if it is the last thing I ever do.'"

The NFL under Commissioner Roger Goodell has always been swift with punishments, but there has yet to be any disciplinary action taken toward Cable.

The guy obviously made a mistake in his first marriage, and I in no way condone his actions. We all make mistakes, and that one came back to bite Cable. The other two allegations obviously have no credibility; if they did, Goodell would have done something about it.

Yet ESPN is always quick to call Cable "abusive" and "violent."

I realize that Davis has burned some bridges in his time and ticked a lot of people off. I also realize that Davis revolutionized the game in several aspects. He was probably the biggest supporter of desegregation in all of sports, but ESPN will never tell you that.

Davis had Pete Rozelle shaking in his boots as commissioner of the AFL and pretty much forced the merger that made the NFL what it is today. ESPN would never give Davis credit for that.

They would also never tell you that he was a great head coach in his day and turned a team that was 9-33 in its first three seasons into one of the most storied franchises in the league.

What they will tell you is the negative. They'll talk about the carousel at head coach, the bad draft picks, and free agent signings. Above all, they are quick to snap degrading pictures of an aging icon whose health is obviously declining.

Davis is a pioneer in this game, and it's time ESPN and Schefter quit insulting him and spreading rumors about his team. Sadly, he will probably never be talked about in a positive light until he dies.